wall st turns in a dismal performance as oil rises

Sydney - Thursday - December 30: (RWE)- Wall Street has turned in
a dismal performance with only a glimmer of light emerging from the
Nasdaq 100 index which crept into positive territory at the last moment
of the session.
The other key New York indices all finished lower with the S&P
500 and the Nasdaq composite almost stalled.
The Dow was never in the hunt to get in front, especially when
Boeing took a dive after China indicated it would limit the purchase of
new aircraft in 2005.
Bonds were in a bad way after the $24 billion two year note
auction went off badly with the yield rising to 3.12 per cent, the
highest level since 2000.
Bid to cover ratio slumped to 2 against the previous 2.61 on the
November offering.
It influenced long bonds with the 10 year cash paper up 3 points
to 4.325 per cent.
Equity traders took little notice of the stronger US dollar
although the gold price took a bad hit, losing $8.30 to $436 oz on the
COMEX spot.
The oil price didn't help share trader confidence after the price
of February crude settled $1.87 higher at $43.64 barrel and touched a
high of $43.70 barrel during the trading session on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
The spurt in the oil price follows the US Energy Information
Administration report of a fall of 800,000 barrels to 295.1 million
barrels last week.
On the data front the National Association of Realtors reported
record existing home sales which came in at 2.7 per cent plus on 6.9
million annual rate in November against 6.7 million in October.

Key New York indices fall except for Nasdaq 100
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On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.35 to
10,829.19.
The Dow's session ranged from a low of 10,795.57 to a high of
10,853.72.
Of the 30 Dow member stocks, 10 rose and 20 fell.
The more broadly-based S&P 500 eased 0.09 to 1,213.45 while the
technology-focused Nasdaq Composite lost 0.19 to 2,177.00.
The Nasdaq 100 ended at 1,624.95, up 0.76 points.
NYSE volume totaled 0.93 billion shares and Nasdaq volume was
1.49 billion.
The Dow's most significant decliner was Boeing Co., whose shares
slid 2.18 per cent to $52.09 following a Wall Street Journal report that
China will limit new airline purchases next year to those already
ordered.
The China's move is seen as a policy to apply the brakes to its
rapid economic growth.
The director-general of the Civil Aviation Administration of
China, Yang Yuanyuan, reportedly told a conference in Beijing on Monday
that domestic airlines had already ordered enough aircraft to meet the
country's travel needs in 2005.
On the energy front, explosions and sounds of gunfire were heard
in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, near the Interior Ministry, causing
crude oil prices to spike to $43 per barrel.
Additionally, US heating oil inventories dropped for the first
time in several weeks.
Dow component and oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. gained 0.16 per
cent to $51.13 by the close.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. gained 1.19 per cent to $27.26
to continue yesterday's strong rebound.
Pfizer also announced the provision of medicines, financial and
logistical support to the value of $35 million to the relief effort in
tsunami-affected areas of Asia.
Away from the Dow, the Wall Street Journal reported that Time
Warner is currently in discussions with Sprint Corporation to offer cell
phone service over the wireless service provider's network on a trial
basis in early next year.
Sprint shares firmed 0.12 per cent to $24.86.
Finally, the New York Times reported the Pentagon plans to reduce
the Air Force's program to buy 277 of Lockheed Martin Corporation's new
F/A-22 fighter jets worth an estimated $72 billion.
Lockheed's shares dropped **** per cent to $55.22 on the news.
ENDS